150 Gallon in-wall build

phxfishguy

phxfishguy

Member
Some of you may remember me from my cross country trip with my dad, my dogs and of course my fish. If not, the link is here...
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/362171/moving-cross-country
So it's taken me 4 months, but I've finally gotten around to getting the fish out of temporary storage and into the big tank. I delayed this long because the wall that I wanted to build into really needed to be moved.
Here's some pictures of the wall before I did any work, the empty tank, and the temporary storage for the fish and corals, and rock and sand.




 
phxfishguy

phxfishguy

Member
Initially I thought I would not move the wall so I drew up this design...
The idea was I would use the existing wall 2x4's to build into the base.
 
phxfishguy

phxfishguy

Member
Well after a lot of moaning about how close the tank would be to the water heater, etc., I decided to move the whole wall. Here was the new plan that I drew up last night.
 
phxfishguy

phxfishguy

Member
One main difference other than building a new wall was that we decided to make the tank higher so it looks more like a picture on the wall.
Here are pictures of the progress that I made today.
1st is the hole I made in the wall, which prompted my 4-year old son to go tell my wife what I did. Although she knew I was working on it, it still freaked her out to see a hole in the wall. Then you can see the whole wall gone followed by the start of the stand. The last one is of the base with one of the rear legs.



 
phxfishguy

phxfishguy

Member
Here's the last pics of the day. I finished the base for the most part. The last picture is of my work bench in the garage where I did all the wood cutting.



 
t316

t316

Active Member
Very nice...

I love in-wall tanks. So what is the room that will be flush (living room?) Are you just going to trim it out on that side. I would recommend a bar type ledge. I did this on my kitchen side, but only trimed out the other side. Everyone spends most of their time on the kitchen side because you can prop your arms up there and just stare.
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
this is clutch! i envy all the homeowners that have the option of in-wall tanks. i rent (for a disgusting amount of money) but when i do buy, i'm buying around the idea of tossing a few tanks in-wall.
 
phxfishguy

phxfishguy

Member
The tank is in the basement. Unfortunately, this was the only wall that I had the option of using since I wanted the back end in my storage area so I could use it as a fish room. I will put a sink, RO, water buckets and quarantine tank in there, which will make water changes a lot easier. The room is actually the kids play room, but this is in the alcove and I plan on putting a couple of chairs and a coffee table there to be able to sit and enjoy the fish. It will be more of a picture look than a bar so I am just going to frame it with molding that the wife picked out.
 
nemo22

nemo22

Member
i would make sure to reinforce everything and i would put plywood on the top of the base. i put 4x4 inside my walls when i built my aquarium room for my tank in the wall. sorry i don't have pics.
 
phxfishguy

phxfishguy

Member
I am going to put 1 inch styro foam on top of the base and then 3/4 inch plywood under the tank. The top frame of the base will be resting on a total of 9 2x4's. When I look at the stand I bought at the store that was used before I moved, it was all build out of 1x4's. I think the setup I have will more than hold the weight.
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
Make sure to post for us along that way so I can use this as a reference when I make my in wall project... something I can definitely do since I have the option. This will be my next advance in the hobby!!! Thanks for the inspiration!
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
I don't usually follow a lot of builds, but I want in on this one
Followed the moving thread, so want to see where it ends. Can't wait to see!
 
small triggers

small triggers

Active Member
LOOKS GREAT!!
I showed my husband and said,, "see look what his spouse lets him do!" then he said,,, "feel free to take any wall in our house out",,,,yeah hes funny all of our walls are load bearing

Have fun with the build,,, great time of year to do it with not being able to do stuff outside!
Keep the pics and posts coming!!!
 
phxfishguy

phxfishguy

Member
Here is an update from today. I didn't have a lot of time to work on it, but I finished the stand and got the tank on it.
 
t316

t316

Active Member
Originally Posted by PHXFishGuy
http:///forum/post/3178138
I am going to put 1 inch styro foam on top of the base and then 3/4 inch plywood under the tank. The top frame of the base will be resting on a total of 9 2x4's. When I look at the stand I bought at the store that was used before I moved, it was all build out of 1x4's. I think the setup I have will more than hold the weight.
I would put the styrofoam "directly" under the tank, and the rest below that. This is actually what is recommended from most tank manufacturers. The styrofoam directly under the tank will allow for any settling, which could otherwise cause shifts.
 
t316

t316

Active Member
Originally Posted by small triggers
http:///forum/post/3178441
LOOKS GREAT!!
I showed my husband and said,, "see look what his spouse lets him do!" then he said,,, "feel free to take any wall in our house out",,,,yeah hes funny all of our walls are load bearing

Have fun with the build,,, great time of year to do it with not being able to do stuff outside!
Keep the pics and posts coming!!!

Load bearing walls should not effect your decision. ANY and EVERY wall in the house can be modified to accomodate an in-wall tank.
 
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